Astrology - A Science of Cosmic OnenessAstrology is perhaps the most ancient subject and also in a way the most ignored. It is the most ancient because astrology has been in existence as far back as we have been able to investigate the history of mankind. Astrological inscriptions have been found on bone remnants from the Sumerian civilization which existed twenty-five thousand years before Jesus. Bone remnants have been discovered with astrological inscriptions and with an outline of the moon's orbit in the sky.

But in India this science is even older. In the Rigveda reference is made to a certain constellation of the stars which could only have occurred several (ninety-five) thousand years ago. Because of this, Lokmanya Tilak concluded that the Vedas must certainly be even more ancient: the constellation of the stars as the Vedas describe it could only have occurred at a certain moment ninety-five thousand years ago; so that particular vedic reference must be at least ninety-five thousand years old.

That particular vedic reference could not have been added at a later period. Other, younger generations would not have been able to work out a constellation that existed many years before. But now we have scientific methods which we can use to discover where the stars were at a particular moment in the distant past.

The deepest laws of astrology were first discovered in India. In fact it was only because of astrology that mathematics was born. To make astrological calculations, first mathematics was needed. The digits used in arithmetic were invented in India -- the numbers one to ten, which exist in all the world's languages, are basically Indian in origin. And throughout the world the decimal system has been accepted: the decimal system was born in India, and it slowly spread throughout the entire world. The numerals one to nine, prevalent in all the world's languages, came into existence only because of the influence of Indian astrology.

Astrology basically believes that your birth and future are affected by the planetary positions. It believes that you are not an island unto yourself. You are part of the whole. Your being affects the entire universe and the universe affects you. It is necessary that we understand some basic matters regarding the concept of astrology. First, it is necessary to know that, from a scientific point of view, the whole solar family is born out of the sun. The moon, Mars, Jupiter, and the rest of the planets, including this Earth, are all organic parts of the sun. Slowly, life on Earth came into being -- from plants to man. Man is an organic part of the Earth; the Earth is an organic part of the sun. It is like a mother who has a daughter, who in turn also has a daughter, and in all three of them the same blood flows. Their bodies are made up of similar cells. The scientists use a word "empathy" meaning shared sensitivity. Those things that are born from the same source have a sort of shared inner experience.

Out of the sun the Earth is born, and out of the Earth our bodies are born, and far away, the sun is our great grandparent. Whatsoever happens on the sun creates a vibration in every cell of our bodies. It must be that way because our cells are all born out of the sun. The sun appears to be a great distance away but it is not so far. In every element of our blood and in every particle of our bones live the atoms of the sun. We are part of the sun, so it is no wonder that our lives are influenced by the sun. There is a sort of intimate relationship between the sun and ourselves. If we understand this relationship rightly, we can enter into the dimension of astrology.

There are various types of astrology practiced all around the world today. As far as its application in the performing of essential samskaras such as marriage is concerned, it is used in at least two parts. The matching of horoscope of the bride and groom helps compare the qualitative aspects of the two. What is not obvious by meeting the persons involved or by their family history may be very obvious to an astrologer regarding the possible behavior patterns and the future of the pair. A good astrologer can see if the two are compatible now and will stay compatible in the future. How applicable it is today is not the subject of discussion here and we will not address that part. The other application is to find an auspicious time (when the planetary positions are favorable) most suitable for the event.